title: Efficacy of oral cytarabine ocfosfate and etoposide in the treatment of elderly patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes compared to that in elderly acute myeloid leukemia patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and patients with higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) have a much poorer prognosis than younger patients despite intensive chemotherapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ten patients with higher-risk MDS and 12 patients with AML over 65 years of age were enrolled into this study and received oral induction therapy with cytarabine ocfosfate and etoposide.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The therapy response rates were 60% in the MDS group and 41.7% in the AML group. The difference in overall survival among MDS and AML patients was not statistically significant. The difference in the median survival times of the responsive and nonresponsive groups, which included MDS and AML patients, was statistically significant (790 and 174 days, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Based on a comparison of the data of this therapy in elderly higher-risk MDS patients versus elderly AML patients, we conclude that this therapy is well tolerated and can be cost-effective and useful for higher-risk MDS in elderly patients.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Horikoshi
authors.forename: Noriyoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Iriyama
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirabayashi
authors.forename: Hitomi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kodaira
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsukawa
authors.forename: Yoshihito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Uchino
authors.forename: Hiromichi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hatta
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takeuchi
authors.forename: Sumiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001088:Arabinonucleotides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003568:Cytidine Monophosphate / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005047:Etoposide / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D009190:Myelodysplastic Syndromes / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D001088:Arabinonucleotides; C061162:1-arabinofuranosylcytosine-5'-stearylphosphate; D005047:Etoposide; D003568:Cytidine Monophosphate